Prickled Roses
by winter-rose-in-the-snow
Summary: After facing endless torture from the marauders, lily finds herself falling for james.
1. Engaged

"Ugh. That idiot! Change me back Marlene!"

Lily stormed in, her hair violet and sparkly, fuming.

"Woah, Lils darling, calm down!," Marlene said, as she whipped out her wand and muttered the counter-curse. "was it Potter again?"

"strangely, no. He hasn't bothered me for months!" she sighed. "I kind of miss yelling at him, his reaction was always priceless."

"You know Lily, Maybe you were a bit too harsh on him. Why couldn't you just agree to go on a date with him?" Marlene teased.

"Why couldn't you date Sirius?"

"Black doesn't like me though...and i don't like him. However, james likes you, even if you don't return those feelings."

Lily sighed.

"You know Lils, give him a chance for me. Just try to get along, will you?"

Just as Lily was contemplating what to curse Marlene with, their best friend Alice came bounding in, her face alight with excitement.

"LILY! MARLENE! FRANK PROPOSED! PARTY THIS AFTERNOON!"

Marlene squealed, "i'm so happy for you Alice, show me the ring!"

Alice beamed and showed them her finger, now adorned with a golden band, embedded with small, princess-cut diamonds, and a huge diamond in the center.

"Um, Alice, im super happy for you and all, but don't you think you're a bit too young to be engaged, i mean, you're only 17."

Alice scoffed, "And don't YOU think that you're a bit too old to be complaining about the childish pranks James pulls on you? Besides, in the muggle world, some people get married at 18."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "when's the party?"

"At 8:00. I even got special permission from McGonnagall." Then she smirked. "You don't have any dresses to wear do you Lily? I think you have no choice but to wear something of Marlene's tonight. You two are practically the same size."

Marlene gasped. "That less than 2 hours away! Come on Lils! I have to get your makeup done and your hair, and WHAT will you wear!"

Lily sobbed as she propped herself on Marlene's bed. "I'm gonna kill Frank for this."

Marlene rummaged through her closet until she found what she was looking for.

"Party dresses! These will be perfect for you!" she said as she held out two dresses. One was deep maroon, with a V-neck. It was strapless, and had a slit down one leg. The other, was black, an off-the-shoulder dress, with a sweetheart neckline. It ended mid-thigh and had an open back.

"Try them on!" Marlene exclaimed, as Lily eyed the dresses suspiciously. "They're not going to kill you Lily."

Lily sighed and did as she was told. The deep maroon dress, in her opinion, was way too revealing, so she tried on the black one. It fit her perfectly, and accented her figure perfectly.

"You have to go bra-less, Lils. It has an open back." Marlene noted.

"Do I have to wear this?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING? this dress was made for you!"

Lily sighed, unsnapped her bra, and slid into the silky material. Marlene was right. It looked as if it was made for her.

Marlene smirked evilly. "Poor Potter is going to pass out tonight."

Lily glared at her and retorted. "Let's see if Sirius will finally fall for you tonight."

Marlene grinned. "Those boys have got it coming."

Lily put on some mascara, and deepened the color of her lips with a lipstick that matched the shade of her red hair.

Marlene frowned, as she got her own makeup done to match her deep red dress. "You need to fix that hair."

She came over and curled Lily's hair, then put it up in an elegant bun. She pulled out a few strands of hair to frame her face. "Perfect Lils."

Marlene's hair was down and wavy. she pinned a few strands away from her face, and behind her ear.

"Lets go, Lils. I hope Alice went to a good stylist, because that girl does not know how to play up her features."

They slid on some wedges, then walked down to the common room, where the party had just started. Alice rushed to the foot of the stairs to greet them. She gasped. "you two look beautiful!" Marlene smirked.

"SHH...don't tell anyone, but i got the marauders to sneak in some firewhiskey to spike the punch. They're over there, doing just that." she said pointing to a corner.

Lily almost laughed, but suppressed her smile. Remus was throwing his head back in exasperation from trying to wrestle the boys into their ties. Potter looked uncomfortable, tugging at his tie, and running his fingers through his hair. Sirius looked angry, glaring at Remus, but he managed to keep himself from ripping off the tie. Peter was running from Remus, but eventually surrendered to Remus, and allowed him to slip the tie around his neck. Not able to control her laughter any longer, she let a loud chuckle escape her lips. Remus turned to her, as did the other marauders.

"Do you see what i have to go through?" he groaned. Lily shook her head and pecked him on the cheek. Potter glared.

"You look nice," she said, as he hugged her.

"You look absolutely amazing" He whispered to her. "Is James glaring at the back of my head? he's going to go on and on about what a traitor I am."

"What? I'm not allowed to have friends now?"

"Come on Lils, you know it's not like that...He just really likes you."

She pulled away from his embrace, as the people started to come in. Potter walked up to her. He gulped, his adam's apple bobbing up and down, then cleared his throat. "Evans, one dance, please?" He held out his hand.

"Never in a million years Potter."

"Please?"

"No."

"Can't we all just be happy for this one night."

"Great, now you're guilting me into dancing with you."

He grinned sheepishly. "Just one dance and i'll leave you alone for the rest of the night."

She paused. Well, being Potter-free for a whole night seemed almost too good to be true. Plus, One dance couldn't hurt, could it?

"Fine. Just one though." She took his hand and gasped when he placed hi hand on her waist.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He smirked. "This is how people dance Evans. Now put your hands on my shoulders."

"Definitely not"

"You don't want to look like a dancing hippogriff, now do you."

She gritted her teeth and placed her hands on his shoulders, as he glided around the room with her. Damn, she thought, he was a good dancer. She was so caught up in the song, that she didn't realize what he was going to do until he suddenly picked her up and swung her around in a circle.

"Merlin,Evans, Do you eat at all?"

"Yes. I do. And even if I don't, it's really none of your business."

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay woman, i'll back off."

James thought his hands were in heaven. Never had he thought that he'd get this close to touching the milky-white, smooth skin on her back, or gripping the tiny waist of the woman he'd liked for years. Her hair framed her face perfectly, drawing attention to the striking green eyes, now accented with mascara. Her lips were so perfect, they looked so soft, and for that dress, he guessed it was Marlene's work, the little thing showed just enough of her cleavage to leave him panting, and showed most of her long, creamy-skinned legs.

"Evans, goddammit, tell Marlene that your dress is doing more harm than good."

She smirked. "What happened to you really, Potter? You're awfully nice today."

"Listen, Lily (she glared at the mention of her first name), I promised that i'd leave you alone, and I did. I can't force you to like me. I'm not quitting yet, but im not going to torture you anymore. That's it."

The dance ended before she could reply, and he disappeared into the crowd.


	2. In between chaos

Two hours later, Lily walked over to Marlene. "I'm practically dying right now without my sleep. Can we retire to our dorms...please?"

"No..."

Lily frowned. "Fine then." She held her hands up to her mouth, cupped them, then yelled across the room. "BLACK...I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE HERE!"

Marlene stared at her wide-eyed, as Lily smirked. "No, you wouldn't Lils... I swear I'll kill you!"

Black came prancing over, abandoning the brunette he was dancing with. "You called... my lady?"

Lily scoffed. "Marlene here, isn't letting me go to sleep, and i thought you may be able to convince her to let me rest."

"And...why would I be able to convince her when you can't?"

Lily smiled, and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. Marlene yelped. "Lily! Where did you get that? I..."

With a wave of her wand, Lily silenced her. "See here, Black..." she said, waving the paper in front of his face, while Marlene made fruitless attempts to snatch it away. "This was written by our very own Marlene Mckinnon, or should i rephrase that? Marlene...Black"

Sirius' trademark smirk vanished as Lily un-silencio'd Marlene, who ran up the stairs into the girl's dormitory. Sirius grabbed the paper from her hands and read with a hoarse voice, "Marlene Black, Marlene Mckinnon-Black...Mrs. Marlene Black..."

He tucked the piece of paper into his pocket, then glanced at Lily. " Sorry Evans...I don't do commitment, I like Marlene, i really do, but she'll only be a one-night stand to me...it's just how I am. Tell her i'm sorry for that Evans..."

He walked away from her, his hands in his pockets, and his rugged, medium-length hair hanging over his shoulders as he walked towards the marauders with his head down.

Lily trudged up the staircase, guilt flooding her about what she had done. Marlene was on her bed, staring at the ceiling, when Lily came in.

"I know he said no. You don't have to break the bad news to poor, desperate Marlene."

"Oh Marly, it's not like that...im sorry, I really am, I just always thought he liked you and..."

"And you betrayed a friend to find out whether your enemy liked her or not, and threw your friend into a bottomless pit for the rest of her school life and maybe more."

"Marly...I really didn't mean to..."

"Save it. talk to someone who cares."

With that, she pulled the curtains, and went to bed, leaving Lily alone and helpless.

Lily stripped off her clothes and changed into her night robes, then went outside for a walk. She barely noticed that it was a full moon night. She raced against the wind, feeling it chill her face. She heard a growl, and stopped. In front of her was a very big wolf, maybe 4 feet, glaring down at her through it hazel eyes. She didnt have to wonder, she knew who it was. "Remus. Please it's me, Lily...Remus...don't hurt me!" she cried desperately, recognizing the wolf for who he really was. The wolf lunged at her, his claws tearing the soft skin under her robes. she backed away, and screamed. Her robes were torn, and blood stained them. Her head spun, and she struggled to her feet. She whimpered as she closed her eyes. The wolf lunged again, but was pushed away by an enormous stag. A big, black dog pounced at the wolf, teeth snapping, but never hurting it, herding it away from her. The stag nuzzled her impatiently, as she struggled to get up. The black dog came to her aid, as she gripped onto it's fur, and limped back to the castle.

When Lily awoke, her memories came flooding back to her. She found herself, in a hospital bed, and she lifted her dress to inspect her injuries. Madam Pomfrey had healed them as best she could, but the scars were still there. Other than that, she felt fine. "Madam Pomfrey!" she cried out. The young nurse came rushing to her side.

"Are you okay dear, you looked as though you'd been attacked by a wolf!"

"No madam, it was a dog, but I managed to get away. I feel fine now, may i go?"

The nurse looked at her, and not being able to find any excuses to make her stay, sighed, and frowned. "I suppose you may go, but if those scratches bother you, be sure to see me immediately."

Lily sat up in her bed, but let out a yelp, as the bruises on her hip started to open up again.

"My dear girl, you must stay here until those scratches heal completely. If you have anything to say to anyone, i can call them to the wing, but you must not stand up again."

Lily nodded, wincing from the pain. "Call Remus, please."

Madam Pomfrey paled. "Remus...yesterday was the full moon wasn't it...did he attack you?"

"you know about his condition? He didn't bite me, but I need to see him."

Madam Promfrey nodded. "I'll send for him right away."

Remus came in about an hour later, with his eyes downcast, and his face pale and sickly, like it always was after the full moon.

"Lily, why did you send for me? Is there a problem? I heard you were attacked."

"You don't have to pretend with me Remus. I know."

"Know what?"

"About your condition...I know it was you who attacked me yesterday...I don't care. A few scratches cannot keep me away from a friend."

"What if i'd bit you though, surely that would have been a big deal. I'm a monster Lily."

"If you had bit me yesterday, then you know what? Yes, I would be worried, but I'd know that i wouldn't have to be alone on those full moon nights. I'll never stop being your friend Remus."

"And i'll always be Grateful for that Lily. Will you come with me to Hogsmeade next weekend? As a friend? I want to show you something."

"Of course, Rem. And can you tell Potter to talk to Marlene about how sorry I am for-for the thing involving Sirius? You know she'll listen to him. She's like his sister." she sighed. "Tell him I'll owe him."

Remus smiled tiredly."I'll try Lils."


	3. Sorries

James looked up as Remus walked into the room.

"How is she Moony? Is she okay? You didn't bite her did you? What did she say" He was hyperventilating.

"James, she's fine. She knows about my condition."

He paled. "What?"

"She doesn't care Prongs, she says a little thing like that cannot keep her away from me. She asked a favor from you. She asked if you could talk to her about something involving Marly and Sirius."

"Sirius? did he hurt Marlene? I was worried when he showed up late to the shack, but i swear...If he's screwing with Marlene...I'll...I'll kill him!"

He rushed into the boy's dormitories as Remus wrestled him back.

"Stop! Prongs!" James turned to look at him, rage evident in his eyes. "I'll go talk to him. You may do something that you'll regret."

"Fine, but if he's done something to Marlene, ...I' .him!"

Remus shook his head. "If he's really done something to Marlene, then i'll help you."

Remus walked into the dormitories, where he found Sirius, with his face buried in his pillow.

"Go AWAY Moony! I need my beauty sleep!"

"What did you do to Marly, Padfoot?"

He rolled over and stared up at Remus. "Nothing, I swear!"

"Then why is Lily turning to _James_ for help apologizing?"

"Oh, that..."

"Yes, that."

"Marlene likes me." he spat

"WHAT?" he whispered.

"God Remmy, you need to work on your whispering. Marlene fancies me and was stupid enough to write it down in a little-girl diary."

"Wait...that's it? Seriously?"

"That's my name, and yes, that's it. Tell prongs that an attempted homicide is beyond unnecessary."

"Will do mate. By the way though...Lily knows about my 'furry little problem'"

"Really...So Evans bird figured it out? She hurt by the way?"

"No, she's not hurt, but she knows. She's stubborn like you lot though...says that even if i'd bitten her, she still would have been my friend."

"So, that bird's not as bad as I thought."

"I'm showing her the shack. Asked her to accompany me to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"Wait...you asked Prongs' bird out on a date? He'll kill you." Sirius cackled.

"Honestly Padfoot, I hardly think that showing Lily the shrieking shack is a date...and even if it was, I don't like her in _that_ way."

"So...Lily owes Prongs a favor now? Why can't he just ask her out to hogsmeade?" He smirked.

Remus sighed. " _James_ is finally growing up, so I doubt that'll happen. And plus, she already agreed to dance with him...It's only a matter of time before she starts dating him." Remus said, smiling. "We just have to wait."

Sirius sighed as Remus finally exited the room. Truth be told, he had been thinking about Marlene a lot lately. All he'd ever wanted was a family, he could have one, if he finally decided to settle down, as Alice had. But he couldn't. When it came to girls, he couldn't commit. He didn't want to hurt Marlene, but he just wanted her so badly...ever since she had walked onto the train at the beginning of term, wrapped in a tight little sweater and black tights, her hair let loose into curls, falling freely around her as she laughed with her friends. He wanted to push her down on a desk and slam into her as she moaned out his name, as he filled her with pleasure. Funny, how he pictured her that way. His night rampages were for his pleasure alone, and he hated it when a witch tried to say his name aloud. It made him feel like he was owned. Funnily enough, that's how he wanted to be with Marlene, giving _her_ pleasure. He shook his head. He was becoming someone he didn't know, and it was _her_ fault. She didn't give in to his wishes, falling at his feet, and worshiping his manhood as many others did. She didn't laugh at his every joke. She was beautiful, and she was different.

He walked out, down the stairs, and out of the portrait hole, to calm himself down, but all he could think about was Marlene. As he climbed up the steps, the astronomy tower came into view. He sat down, only to find, to his surprise, that Marlene was already there, reading a book. She approached him and sat down next to him.

"Sirius...I know you don't like me in the way that i want you to but..." Her voice quavered as Sirius gulped.

Before she could continue, he asked her, "How long?" She turned away. "I asked you a question Marlene."

She faced him. "Since 4th year."

Sirius looked into her eyes, then turned away. She'd liked him since she was 14. Three years, three years in which he'd fucked witch after witch, while she was waiting for _him_.

"Marlene I..." She turned to him, and smiled.

"It's OK Sirius. I just needed to know...Is it still okay for us to be friends?"

"No, it's FUCKING NOT okay!"

She turned to him now, raw anger evident in her eyes. "I should've known you were incapable of loving. I should've realized...you're just like your family, evil...You can't love _anyone_ can you?"

"Don't compare me to my family Marlene. Don't sink that low."

"What if I do? What can you do about it?"

He turned around and pushed her into the wall.

"Sirius...Please-I'm sorry."

He glared at her, and pressed his mouth to hers.

Marlene felt like she was on fire, as his mouth worked on hers, his teeth nibbling at her swollen, sensitive lips, then soothing the ache with gentle licks. His tongue traced her bottom lip, which sent tingles down to her stomach. She gasped, and he took that as his cue to slip his tongue into her mouth, where it tangled with hers, as she moaned from the pleasure and excitement. He lifted her up against the wall, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands ran into her curls, caressing them, and her moans grew into pleading whimpers. His mouth moved down to the skin under her ear, and slowly, slowly moved it's war down onto her neck, where he suckled and licked the fresh skin, savoring her taste. He groaned, and rubbed at her, his erection pressing into her as he worked his way back up to her begging mouth. She tangled her hands into Sirius' messy mane and she whispered his name. Then, it was all over. He pulled away from her, anger clouding his eyes.

"Sirius?" she whimpered

"I'm sorry Marlene. This shouldn't have happened."

She looked away from him, tears threatening to fall. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, he was gone.


	4. I dont care

Marlene shakily got up to her feet and looked out at the sky. What had just happened? Was he so cruel as to treat her like his other conquests? She would've just accepted a rejection, why did he have to go so far as to manipulate her feelings to his advantage? She turned and ran to her dorm, hoping no one would see her defeated.

The next morning, Marlene awoke to a certain dark-haired boy sitting at the foot of her bed. She glared at him.

"Out Sirius! Get Out!"

Sirius sighed. "I'm only here to apologize Marlene. Yesterday meant nothing, so of course we can be friends. I'm really sorry Marls, truly. Look! I even got you some popping pancakes to make up for it!" Lies, all lies, Sirius knew this newfound affection would get him in trouble, but he just couldn't stay away from her. Marlene had this radiance to her, one that drew even the most ignorant to her. Sirius treasured it and he knew it would get him in trouble, but he needed her, just one day to fulfill his craving. He just wanted to spend one day with her, so he summoned up the courage and blurted it out.

"Marlene, go to Hogsmeade with me. Please, and only as friends, of course."

She bit her lip, looked straight into his eyes and said,

"No. You made it very clear that you feel no true affection for me. I was hoping you would at least have the decency to treat me as a human being, if not a friend, but clearly you don't give a shit about me. Black, I will not go anywhere with you. Don't disturb me again."

He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly to keep his hands from shaking.

"We are friends Marlene. I'm sorry if I broke that. I guess I'll just take Sasha out instead." With that, he turned and left the room, looking for someone to help heal his bruised heart, when he ran into Remus, once again. He had a terrible habit of running to Remus whenever he had Marlene problems.

"Fuck, what happened Si? You look a mess!"

Sirius licked his lips. "I broke a perfectly good friendship, because I am an ass that cannot control his feelings."

Remus frowned. "I get the latter half, but assuming that you're talking about Marlene, how can that be your fault? And if you don't mind, I don't want the whole school to hear about our beloved Marlene's little crush so lets go over there." He pointed to a little classroom.

Sirius followed Remus into the classroom and shut the door behind him. Remus repeated his question. "So?"

Sirius sighed. "It's my fault. She came to me asking if we could be friends, and I would've been fine with it, but I couldn't control my damn brain, Remus. I kissed her. I led her on and now she fucking wont even glance at me."

Remus punched him in the face. "You hypocritical dumbass! Why the hell would you do that if you don't even like her?" Then he glanced at his pitiful expression.

"Ridiculous. You fancy her, don't you? If you like her then why couldn't you just ask her out instead of harassing her already broken heart?"

"I can't. I don't like her like that"

"You're pathetic Sirius. I get that your afraid of commitment because you're scared someone will hurt you again, but you damn well better know that when I tell James he is going to beat the shit out of you."

"I don't care about that right now. What I need is for Marlene and I to be friends again. If James can help, then I don't mind getting beat up."


End file.
